tiger tracks

i recently acquired a 98 tiger and this is the first dirt shakedown run, wanted to get a feel for the bike off road.

after about 50 miles on the hiway and topping up the tank i hit the dirt out of cordes jcnt. to bloody basin rd.

kiosk that used to talk about the area, many indian ruins, mining and ranching history around here. i really like this area and there is so much to see if you slow down and take it in, i almost always see a group of small deer on the mesa i am heading to down the smaller road in the background

home sweet home, sometimes when i come across these line shacks and old residences i think about how i could live out there, this place was great and i think i really could spruce it up and live there.
the main house

the garage

and a creek. not much water but where there is a water source there are animals, lots of tracks in the sand.

at the edge of the mesa you have this ridge, pretty common on most mesa's, with all the indigenous people in this area there are thing to see in the rocks.

ruins here are very accessible and have had a hard time with history, but they are many and its neat to walk around them

then of course, the dick-tographs, well maybe lizards

to this point the road was good, great for a big bike if you want a little action and some fun. then i shot up a less travelled road, i knew it was going to be rougher because i've been on it before. the combination of decomposed granite (slippery) somewhat steep climbs and 50/50 tires made the likelihood of a drop increase. it wasnt bad at all until i hit some rain ruts running down the trail, so after a bit further to see just what the tiger could do i decided to turn around.

this pic doesnt show the "good" spots, but you get the idea of the terrain and elevation gain, plus its just a nice view.

so, back down the mtn. and out on a different trail to the main dirt rd. didnt stop for pics as i was having a blast on that trail. decided to return home on mostly dirt instead of the hiway.

little place called cordes, pop 11

brief stop at a waterin hole, per tigers request as she wanted to hunt for a snack, alas nothing there, i told her theres no gazelle here but she insisted we look.

arizona does have trees and grass in the desert, its just a smaller scale.

and thats my little shakedown ride for today. i have concluded that i can comfortably take the tiger just about anywhere i will want to, with logical reason and speed control. i am happy about that.

so where did i leave off?? oh yeah, continuing on bloody basin rd. i gain elevation quickly and the scenery changes a bit.

i really like this area because you are right at the zone where its changing from lowland desert to high desert and grassland. on these mesas you get acres of grasses, pinion pine and juniper. the wife doesnt care for it but i think its my favorite landscape.

i was down there

desert is in bloom, and green with recent rains

been on my plan to find an old cabin from a long forgotten small ranch, along the way i find this one. if its easy access its usually beat down. but still, cool to see

hey fat finger!

it was a rough one, but a fun one. waaaay back in there and down some steep canyons. its worth it though, the harder to get to the better shape there in, someone has been using this and still is. they werent there for my visit but i saw fresh tire tracks and footprints, and everything inside food wise was good and recent.

not so private private time

cant be shy about rapid elevation changes or shelf roads, the tiger is up there lookin at me.

onward,,, wanted to head to the white mtns,,, for a fly fishing overnighter.

i wont bore you with the hiway out of town, but i took a favorite route through globe, clifton and up the 191.

the superior tunnel

old train station in clifton, lots of neat old buildings around here.

couple shots of the open pit mine at morenci

a photo op of the twisties along the 191 didnt really reveal itself this day, i was trying to keep pace ahead of a storm that came out of nowhere.

once i got in the mtns it looked like i would be clear. random meadow so common in the white mtns

was getting ready to fish this little lake on my way to black river when the storm caught to me, 10 mins after i got there the winds picked to at least 30mph, its started raining and the temp dropped to mids 40's i'm guessing. i can deal with that, but with out being able to cast, the lightning striking less than 1/4 mile away helped me make the desision to get outta there

needless to say, i couldnt cast in those winds, cold and some rain i can deal with, so with my plans seemingly put on hold for a while i hi tailed it out of the area to see if i could get out of the storm and make other plans.

little grove of aspens i thought the tiger looked good in front of

everything cleared up once i got west enough, but now i was out of the white mtns and away from the fly fishing i came up for, so i decided to put a cap on it and head home for fathers day.